Natalie Mills

Chef Steve Stawinski, Creekside Grille

July 19, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay Leave a Comment

Chef Stawinski is the new Executive Chef at the Creekside Grille at Wilson Creek Winery in the Temecula A.V. A. The Creekside Grille is tucked into the back courtyard of the picturesque family-owned winery and features unpretentious cuisine with ingenious twists on classic technique. It's familiar territory but full of little surprises. No stranger to Wine Country cooking, having helmed neighboring Ponte Family Estate Winery for nearly six years. In the process he brought it from a deli to a restaurant of renown, with wait lists of up to three hours on the weekends.One interesting tidbit is that Chef Stawinski … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Restaurants, Wineries Tagged With: Chef Steve Stawinski, Creekside Grille, Crispin Courtenay, Natalie Mills, Wilson Creek Winery

Cafe Bravo: A Better Cup of Coffee

May 3, 2010 By Bethany Rogers Leave a Comment

We at Taste of Temecula love locally owned businesses. We also love coffee. The best of both worlds can be found at Café Bravo in Old Town Temecula. It is located on picturesque 5th Street in a recently built structure that looks gracefully well-established. I was there recently, with my 16 year old coffee fanatic daughter, Katie. We left the house to run errands before we had a chance to eat breakfast. It became clear that neither of us are the “suffer in silence” types when it comes to hunger. I knew that we would find something delicious at Café Bravo. I have been a fan of theirs ever since it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Coffee Houses Tagged With: bethany rogers, Café Bravo, Caroline Dalton, coffee, espresso, Gina Venegas-Paine, latte, Natalie Mills, Old Town, quiche, Ryan Dalton, Tea, Temecula, wifi

Temecula Lavender Company

April 25, 2010 By Guest Writer Leave a Comment

Article by: Marilyn Wrye-Tipps Ancient as biblical times, Mary used lavender oil to anoint the feet of Jesus. The Romans used it for cooking, bathing, and as an insect repellant. The history of lavender is well documented by many cultures who have used it both as a flower and in the kitchen alike for its decorative and medicinal properties. Stepping into the Temecula Lavender Company, one gets a sense of why the herb is so seductive. Filled with the intoxicating scent that welcomes you as you enter, this quaint country store in Old Town Temecula nestled between the Temecula Cheese Company … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Stores Tagged With: Kristin Woodbury, Lavender Company, Natalie Mills, Old Town Temcula

Brewed in Temecula

April 14, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay 2 Comments

Black Market Brewing Company Tucked away on Enterprise Circle is a business that smells like a bakery, but looks more like a small oil refinery. Welcome to Black Market Brewing Company, Temecula's premium micro brewer! Black Market Brewing Company is new to the Temecula scene having begun operations in June of 2009 and is expanding at a nice clip. In fact, they currently have the capacity to produce up to 5,000 kegs of beer each year. Which, if you are keeping score is 825,000 12 ounce glasses of beer, a respectable number by anyones standard. Black Market currently supplies 25 restaurants in Riverside … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Micro Breweries Tagged With: Andrew Marshall, Assistant Brewer Ryan Brooks, banana notes, Betelgeuse, Black Market Brewing Company, brewmaster Orion Kingman, Brown Ale, Cellarman, Crispin Courtenay, Dunkelweizen, enterprise circle, Hefeweizen, kegs of beer, Natalie Mills, oil refinery, ounce glasses, Temecula

Introducing Vindemia's 2006 Commonwealth

March 12, 2010 By Trasier Schuyler Leave a Comment

I had to check it for myself, I couldn't believe it. After the best palates at Taste Of Temecula ravished the wine trails at this years World Of Wine, I looked at some of the results and said, "Really, didn't they just open this weekend?" The responses from the crew were all the same, "It's really good wine!" Now, I believed them of course but I needed a good reason to go wine tasting, and this excuse was as good as any. I called Dave at Vindemia, introduced myself, and set up some time to taste this proclaimed goodness for myself. I planned to go alone but before I knew it, I was joined by an entourage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: 2006 Commonwealth, 33133 Vista Del Monte Rd, bordeaux style wine, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Dreamin Balloon & Bi-plane rides, Calle Contento, choice adjectives, Deal Of The Week, ed and Breakfast, french wines, Grenache, Merlot, Natalie Mills, Petite Verdot, Rancho California, Syrahs, taste of temecula, Things to do, traz pick, Vindemia, Viognier, wine trails, Wineauxs, World of Wine

Paso Robles Grand Tasting

March 12, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay Leave a Comment

Recently the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association hosted a huge tasting at the NTC Promenade in San Diego. Close to 300 wines were available to taste, with 47 wineries pouring. Taste of Temecula showed with bolstered ranks, but even with four people covering the show, we were unable to taste everything. For the most part the trade buyers stayed away, with very few purchase agreements drawn-up. This was sad for the Paso Robles Vintners, but it was an outstanding media turnout. Then again journalists and all the wine they can drink, there is a punch-line in there somewhere. There was definitely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: Clautiere Vineyard, Clavo Cellars, Clayhouse Wines, Crispin Courtenay, D' Anbino Vineyards and Cellars, financial woes, Kenneth Volk Vineyards, kukkula, Michael Chava, Natalie Mills, olfactory senses, Paso Robles Grand Tasting, paso robles vintners, rhone varietals, San Diego, Silver Horse Winery, tension in the air, Vina Robles, Zenaida Cellars

Splash Wine Bar

March 4, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay Leave a Comment

Splash is a unique wine bar in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego that attracts the smart and beautiful crowds to lounge in deep leather couches, or hang out at the bar. It is unique in that all the wine is dispensed in self-service Enomatic machines. There are 72 wines available with new varieties constantly added to the mix. Using the Italian-made machines is half the fun of going to Splash. You start off by ordering a debit card, loaded with as much or as little as you feel like spending. Then you insert the card, and dispense your 1 oz portion of wine. If you find one you like, you may buy a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Wineries Tagged With: 72 wines by the glass, Crispin Courtenay, Enomatic, leather couches, Natalie Mills, North Park, park neighborhood, San Diego, sparkling wine, splash, Traci Smith, wine bar

Pasta making class at Kitchen Fantasy

March 1, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay Leave a Comment

Kitchen Fantasy is a complete culinary store serving Temecula. They moved recently and began cooking classes in their new location. A recent class was taught by Chef Dave Collins, a long-time employee of Kitchen Fantasy as well as a local Chef. Kitchen Fantasy was established in 1984 by Ernie Rodriguez, originally as a knife sharpening business. The business has proven successful and has just moved to a new 2,900 square foot space, literally around the corner from the old location. Cooking classes typically run from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and will be held up to four times a week. There are approximately … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: chef, chef dave, cook store, cooking, cooking class, Crispin Courtenay, dave collins, Ernie Rodriguez, Kitchen Fantasy, knife sharpening, Natalie Mills, red pepper, square foot space, wide screen tv

World-Class Watercolor Artists in Fallbrook

February 11, 2010 By Natalie Mills Leave a Comment

The Fallbrook Art Center is currently presenting the Worlds of Watercolor, which is comprised of the Signature American Watercolor Exhibition and the National Watercolor Societies, 89th Annual Exhibition Travel Show. Both shows are hanging in the Janice Griffiths Gallery and are a testament to the vast array of work possible with a single medium. The skill of the artists in both exhibitions is extraordinary. The Signature American Watercolor Exhibition was open to Signature Members of recognized water media societies and associations in the United States. Out of 211 submissions, 29 were ultimately chosen … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fine Art & Culture Tagged With: 89th Annual Exhibition Travel Show, Crispin Courtenay, fallbrook art center, gloria miller allen, Natalie Mills, national watercolor, nws headquarters, Signature American Watercolor Exhibition and the National Watercolor Societies, watercolor, watercolor exhibition, watercolor societies

So-Cal artist Igor Koutsenko featured at Tesoro Winery

January 25, 2010 By Crispin Courtenay Leave a Comment

Last Thursday Tesoro Winery hosted another of it's bi-weekly So-Cal Artist Nights, celebrating the work of local artists paired with local wine and food. Igor Koutsenko was the nights featured artist and he presented a large array of his art featuring a wide variety of styles. Mr. Koutsenko said that he was well trained (very) in Russia, where he attended classical art studies. What he did not say, but rather let his art express was the vast scale of media and technique that he was adapt at. Without being exhaustive; India Ink, Mechanical Pen, Graphite, Oil Paint and others. I have rarely seen an artist … [Read more...]